“These characters are in a great spot at the top of the season,” Candice King told TVLine during a recent visit to the CW drama’s Atlanta set. “I liked the tone they left Season 7 on — with Damon and Enzo and all that death and destruction — but coming into Season 8, there are some nice light, steamy moments to get you started.”

Of course, it won’t be all sunshine and rainbows. This is still The Vampire Diaries, after all.

“Their relationship will definitely be tested,” King added. “They have to balance some pretty adult things, in terms of Caroline and Alaric co-parenting these children and having this supernatural blended family. … Also, Stefan is so attached to protecting and saving Damon. He’ll always choose his brother first, and that’s going to be a really big thing for this couple.”

Generally, King said, “fans of this relationship are really going to enjoy the first part of Season 8. You’ll get to see this couple go through some hardships and figure things out, but you also just get to enjoy their relationship.”

And because this is the show’s final season, TVLine also asked King to reflect on Caroline’s carousel of exes. You can get her thoughts on Caroline’s past with Matt, Tyler and Klaus in the video below:

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Hit PLAY on the video above for King’s thoughts on Caroline’s past relationships, then drop a comment with your own thoughts: How would you like Caroline’s story to end?